The former Co-operative Travel business has netted a £200m government contract that will save the taxpayer and estimated £50m.

Clarity Travel Management has been appointed by the Crown Commercial Service to deliver travel and accommodation for nominated central government departments.

Clarity, based in Manchester, re-branded after being sold by the Co-op to Mawasem Travel & Tourism in 2014.

The CCS deal - worth a potential £201m - is one of the most sought after in the business travel industry.

It is also expected to contribute to central government savings of more than £50million.

Clarity Travel Management was the only new applicant to win one of just four contracts up for pitch, after a vigorous application process.

The new agreements are designed to help make civil servants' travel behaviour more efficient and sustainable.

This will be through the increased use of online booking tools, greater use of video and telephone conferencing and more frequent reporting.

Clarity has already secured more than £26m worth of business in the first half of the year, following heavy investment in their cutting-edge ‘Go2’ suite of digital booking, management information and tracking products.

Chief executive Pat McDonagh said: “The strict criteria for travel within central government departments will provide a challenge that we are more than ready to meet.

"The win is a nod towards not just our market-leading systems, but also the infrastructure of our business which is perfectly geared to manage the extensive security elements involved.”

The implementation process is already underway and Clarity Travel Management expect to be delivering for their new clients by the middle of October 2015.

Matt Denham, commercial delivery director at CCS, said: “This shift away from traditional frameworks to separate contracts is an excellent example of how the government is reshaping its commercial approach to deliver savings for taxpayers while making the way government runs more efficient.”